As we dig a little deeper into what it takes to live our best life, we looked this week at a character in a good story. A character is what he does. Not what he thinks about or talks about...but what he does.
Sometimes the hardest part of life is actually living it out…walking the walk instead of just talking the talk.
I’ve been to too many
memorial services lately…of special people in my life. Here’s what I’ve noticed
about their stories. No one stands at the end of a
life and talks about what people thought about, or felt, or dreamed of, or
hoped for or wanted or even wrote about…they talk about what they DID.
Because a person is what they
DO!...ALL DAY EVERY DAY!
Here’s the truth about living
a great story…It’s going to sound like a great idea.
“Im going to get healthy, I’m going to quit using food for my drug of choice, I’m going to start exercising, I’m going to start being kinder, listening more, having great time management. I’m going to read more, watch TV less, I’m going to take up a hobby, start kayaking, change the relationships in my family. I’m going to spend more time with my kids…quality time. I’m going to do my part to have a great marriage, I’m going to take a class, I’m going to learn new things, I’m going to find balance… I’m going to bark less, wag more.
I’m excited!" But then comes the hard part...walking the walk!
People love and want desperately to live a great story…but few people
like the work it takes to make it happen.
As I have pressed in to my
word for the year…'meaningful', I’ve tried to do something that’s helpful for
living a meaningful life. I
try to imagine myself ten years from now. And then I ask myself what
will I wish I had done by then…and then I try to do those things!
Do you ever see an 85 year
old couple walking hand in hand and say…"Oh, I want to be doing that when I’m
85?” Well, are you doing that now?
Do you ever see a fit 78 year
old lady out walking her dog and say “I want to be doing that when I’m 78.” Are you doing that now?
Do you talk to elderly people
who are reading and have knowledge of important things and say “I want
to be like that when I grow up.” Well, are your reading now?
Try to imagine yourself doing
those things 10 years in to the future or longer…and then do them NOW!
It’s amazing how priorities
float to the top when we consider our lives in hindsight, and as I’ve sat at my
friends’ memorial services I’ve taking this exercise to the furthest point…to
the end of my life. What will I want you to say, my husband to say, my family
to say, my co-workers to say at my memorial service?
Relationships become a
priority…so taking care of myself does too. Because I’m more free to love, I’m
happier, I’m more content, I’m at peace, when I’m taking care of myself. Then the
people around me get the best of me.
I’ve often laughed at people…(on the inside of course) who say that
taking care of yourself, watching your weight, exercising, is selfish.
Ask a husband how it feels to be married to a miserable wife. Ask a child what it’s like to be parented by an unhappy mom, Ask a wife how if feels to be married un an unhealthy, sedentary man…You think taking care of yourself is selfish…I say just the opposite. Taking care of yourself is the first thing you should do if you want real, intimate, important, connected, fun, loving, joyful, relationships!
I’m sure if you’d look back
in ten years…you wouldn't say, I won the team challenge! YEA, I kick it. I won $1000!!! You’ll want to have said. I lost my weight and kept it
off!!!!!
So that means…it’s about change and doing what it takes to make this weight loss permanent …the hard stuff.
A character is what he does!
Living your best life is
about what you DO…not what you know, or what you think about…It’s about the
action you take!
One great little tool Donald
Miller suggests is that at the top of every "to do today list" you write the following:
If I could do today over again I’d…
What would that be like? What
if we were living each day doing the things we hoped we’d be doing if we looked
ten years into the future…or maybe more drastic, if we were sitting at our own
memorial service. What if we’d lived each day living the life of the person we
want to become…who would we become???
Our Winning Teams of the week had some GREAT weight loss %'s
Noon: Team "Cottage Cheeks No More" Gina and Teresa with a 4.25% of weight loss
6 PM: Team "Dude, Where's my Gut?" Jim and Gordan with a 6.04% of weight loss
Congratulations to these teams and to SO many others this week who had GREAT results! We are off and running!!!
Your Challenge For The Week:
- Write at the top of each day of your food and exercise record:
"If I could do today over again I'd..."
- Try a new recipe
We are what we repeatedly do! What will you DO this week!?
Always encouraging you,
Letha
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